What you’ll need

• Large skillet. For cooking eggs, pancakes, or hash
• Baking sheet or griddle. For baking items or cooking large batches
• Mixing bowls. For batter and egg mixtures
• Whisk. For beating eggs and batters
• Measuring cups and spoons. For accurate ingredients

Thanksgiving breakfast is really two questions. What do you feed people on Thanksgiving morning without adding to the day’s cooking, and what do you do with the leftovers on Friday. They have different answers, and neither one should involve standing at the stove making a separate meal.

[Photo: a slice of make-ahead breakfast casserole on a plate next to a mug of coffee, oven mitts nearby]

Thanksgiving morning: light and done ahead

The rules for the morning of: it must be made the day before, it should be light so nobody fills up before the meal, and it should not need the oven, which is about to be fully committed.

• Overnight oats or chia pudding — portioned in jars, ready in the fridge. See our pumpkin overnight oats.
• A make-ahead breakfast casserole — if you have oven space early, an egg bake assembled the night before and baked first thing, before the turkey goes in. Bread, eggs, cheese, sausage or vegetables.
• Baked oatmeal, assembled the night before, baked in the early window, cut into squares, eaten cold or warm all morning.
• Muffins or quick bread, baked days ahead. Our pumpkin muffins or pumpkin bread, or the spice cake as a coffee cake.
• A fruit and yogurt bowl, cut fruit from the fruit platter prep, yogurt, granola, honey. Nothing to make.
• Bagels, cream cheese, smoked salmon, assembled, not cooked. Feeds a crowd with zero effort.

Whatever you choose, put it out as a help-yourself spread so people eat when they wake and you are not running a breakfast service.

The day after: built on leftovers

Friday breakfast is where the leftovers earn their keep:

• Turkey hash, diced turkey and leftover potatoes crisped in a pan, topped with a fried or poached egg.
• Stuffing waffles, leftover stuffing pressed crisp in a waffle iron, topped with an egg and warmed gravy.
• Leftover breakfast sandwich, egg, turkey, a smear of cranberry sauce, cheese, on an English muffin.
• Sweet potato pancakes, leftover sweet potato worked into a pancake batter.
• Savory bread pudding or strata, if you have leftover rolls or bread, cube them into a quick egg bake with turkey and cheese.

More on this in our Thanksgiving leftovers recipes.

For a bigger sit-down: brunch instead

If Thanksgiving morning is its own event, family in town, a gathering before the afternoon meal, that is a brunch, not a breakfast, and it wants a different, fuller menu. See our Thanksgiving brunch guide.

Frequently asked questions

What should I serve for breakfast on Thanksgiving morning?

Something light and made the day before: overnight oats, a make-ahead egg casserole baked early, muffins, or a bagel spread. Nothing that competes for the oven or fills people up before dinner.

Can I make a Thanksgiving breakfast casserole ahead?

Yes. Assemble it the night before, refrigerate, and bake it first thing in the morning before the turkey needs the oven.

What’s a good breakfast for the day after Thanksgiving?

Turkey hash with a fried egg, stuffing waffles, or a leftover breakfast sandwich with egg, turkey and cranberry sauce.

Should breakfast be big or small on Thanksgiving?

Small. Dinner is the event, and a heavy breakfast means people are not hungry for it. Keep it light and let people graze.

The bottom line

Thanksgiving morning: a light spread made entirely the day before, set out for people to help themselves. The day after: turkey hash, stuffing waffles, and a leftover sandwich. Never cook two full meals.

Save it for both mornings, they need different plans.